First World Series of Poker

The first World Series of Poker in 1970 wasn't what you'd expect — there was no formal tournament, no buy-ins, and no structured brackets. Just seven poker legends playing high-stakes cash games at Benny Binion's Horseshoe Casino in Las Vegas. When it was over, the players voted on who performed best, and Johnny Moss walked away with a silver cup. There's a lot more to this fascinating story than you'd imagine.

Key Takeaways

• The first WSOP was held in 1970 at Binion's Horseshoe Casino in Las Vegas with only seven players competing.
• Rather than a formal tournament, players competed in multiple poker variants including Texas Hold'Em, 7-Card Stud, and Razz.
• There were no formal buy-ins or structured prize pools — players simply participated in high-stakes cash games.
• Johnny Moss was crowned champion through a player vote, winning on the second round after an initial tie.
• Moss received a silver cup as "best all-around player" rather than a cash prize for his victory.

The 1969 Reno Reunion That Inspired the WSOP

Before the World Series of Poker became a global phenomenon, a lesser-known gathering in Reno, Nevada, quietly laid its foundation. In 1969, Tom Moore hosted the "Texas Gamblers Reunion" at Holiday Hotel and Casino, sparked by Vic Vickrey's 1968 Gaming Fraternity Convention.

The Reno event's unique games set it apart — players competed across Five-Card Stud, Seven-Card Stud, Texas Hold 'Em, and multiple Lowball variants in high-stakes cash games with no freeze-out tournaments. The Reno event's player representation was equally impressive, drawing legends like Benny Binion, Johnny Moss, Doyle Brunson, and Amarillo Slim Preston.

Moss emerged as the highest money winner, earning the title "King of Cards." Binion, inspired by the turnout, secured Moore's permission to host a similar annual event — directly birthing the WSOP. The connections and relationships formed at the Reunion had a lasting impact on the poker community, shaping the culture and structure of competitive poker for decades to come. The first official WSOP took place in 1970, drawing just 7 entrants, a far cry from the thousands who would compete in later decades.

Why Benny Binion Brought the WSOP to Las Vegas

When Benny Binion left the 1969 Texas Gamblers Reunion inspired, he wasn't starting from scratch — he'd spent decades building the exact reputation and infrastructure that would make Las Vegas the natural home for the World Series of Poker.

Horseshoe's established reputation for high limits, generous comps, and player-friendly odds made it the obvious venue. You'd already find serious players gravitating there because Binion treated every gambler like a high roller, not just the wealthy ones.

Binion's strategic location on Fremont Street, combined with his deep Texas roots and existing high-stakes player networks, gave him direct access to the exact crowd he wanted. He wasn't guessing — he knew these players, understood what they wanted, and built something specifically designed to draw them in. Binion had established the Horseshoe back in 1951, giving him nearly two decades of credibility and trust among serious gamblers before the first WSOP ever dealt a hand.

The first official tournament was held in 1970, with only 7 players competing in what would become one of the most prestigious poker events in the world.

Who Was Actually at the First WSOP in 1970?

The first World Series of Poker wasn't exactly a packed house. While Doyle Brunson's autobiography mentions up to 38 players total, only seven elite gamblers emerged as notable event attendees: Johnny Moss, Doyle Brunson, Amarillo Slim Preston, Puggy Pearson, Sailor Roberts, Crandell Addington, and Carl Cannon. You'd also find recognizable names like Charles Harrelson, Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder, Jack Straus, and Rudolph Wanderone playing cash games throughout the event.

The voting process details are equally fascinating. After days of high-stakes cash games, six players voted for the best all-around player. The first round ended in a tie since everyone voted for themselves. Jack Binion then suggested voting for the second-best player, and Johnny Moss won decisively in that round. The games themselves were played across multiple formats, including Seven Card Stud, Five Card Stud, Razz, 2-7 Lowball Draw, and Texas Holdem, with no formal buy-ins or tournament structure in place.

Rather than a trophy or bracelet, Johnny Moss was awarded a silver cup for his recognition as the best all-around player at the inaugural event, a tradition that would later evolve into the iconic WSOP bracelets starting in 1976.

The First WSOP Had No Tournament: Just Days of Cash Games

Beyond the unusual voting process that crowned Johnny Moss champion, there's another surprising aspect of the 1970 WSOP that most people don't know: there wasn't a tournament at all. Cash game dominance defined the entire event, spanning roughly 10 days of continuous play across multiple poker variants. You'd have found players competing in five-card stud, razz, no-limit hold'em, and several lowball formats — all as cash games with no freeze-out structure.

Without a tournament winner to crown, organizers relied on player voting as champion selection, awarding Moss a silver cup rather than prize money. No formal buy-in existed either. This format ultimately proved problematic for spectators and media, directly inspiring the competitive tournament structure you recognize at the WSOP today. The WSOP Main Event bracelet, introduced as the top prize in 1976, has since become the most coveted trophy in all of poker. By contrast, the 2006 WSOP Main Event awarded a staggering $12,000,000 to its winner, a figure that reflects just how dramatically the event evolved from its humble, unstructured beginnings.

How Johnny Moss Won Without Playing a Tournament Hand?

Johnny Moss didn't win the first World Series of Poker by outlasting opponents at a tournament table — he won because his peers voted for him. After a week-and-a-half of high-stakes cash games at Binion's Horseshoe, the seven participants cast their votes. The first round ended in a tie since every player voted for themselves.

A second round asked each player to identify the second-best competitor, and Moss emerged as the clear choice. That's peer recognition's legitimacy in its purest form — the best players in the world collectively confirming who stood above them. The first voting system's legacy reminds you that early poker championships weren't defined by structured brackets but by reputation, skill, and the respect of the men sitting across the felt. Inducted in 1979, Moss was later enshrined in the Poker Hall of Fame, cementing his status as one of the game's all-time greats. His path to becoming a poker legend began long before the WSOP, as Moss had been hired by a local saloon to protect games from cheaters, where he sharpened the strategic understanding of poker that would eventually make him a champion.

Why Did the WSOP Format Change Completely in 1971?

What worked as a novelty in 1970 couldn't sustain itself as a competitive standard. The reasons for freezeout format adoption came from Ted Thackrey Junior and Amarillo Slim Preston, who advised Benny Binion to replace endless cash games with elimination-based tournaments. The impact of freezeout structure transformed poker into genuine spectacle.

Player voting determined the 1970 champion, lacking competitive legitimacy. Binion replaced one 10-day cash game with five focused tournaments. Elimination created drama that cash games couldn't produce. A $5,000 buy-in with no rebuying raised competitive stakes. Winner-take-all prize pools rewarded only the strongest survivor.

Six players competed in 1971, and the format proved so successful that freezeout became the permanent Main Event structure going forward. The four preliminary tournaments each carried a $1,000 buy-in, making them far more accessible than the high-stakes Main Event. The winner of the Main Event took home a $30,000 prize, a sum that reflected just how serious Binion was about elevating poker beyond backroom cash games.

Seven Players, $5,000 Buy-In, and a Two-Day Finale

The 1971 Main Event brought together just seven invited players, each paying a $5,000 buy-in to compete for a $30,000 winner-take-all prize. That inaugural event structure marked a sharp departure from 1970's casual cash games, replacing peer voting with a competitive freezeout format.

You'd have witnessed familiar faces like Doyle Brunson, Amarillo Slim Preston, Puggy Pearson, and Sailor Roberts battling across just two days. The event prize structure kept things straightforward — one winner, one payout, no splits. Moss and Pearson met heads-up in the finale, with Moss ultimately claiming victory.

Four preliminary $1,000 events also ran alongside the Main Event, giving players additional competitive action. The $5,000 buy-in itself previewed the shift toward the $10,000 standard that would arrive the following year. The 1970 event at Binion's Horseshoe casino featured cash games including Five-Card Draw, Deuce-to-Seven Draw, Seven-Card Stud, Razz, and No-Limit Hold'Em. Rather than receiving a bracelet, the winner of the first WSOP event in 1970 was awarded a silver cup as recognition of their achievement.

How WSOP Prize Money and Buy-Ins Changed Through the 1970s

From that $5,000 buy-in debut, WSOP prize money and entry costs shifted dramatically across the 1970s. The 1971 buy-in increase and prize structure evolution continued shaping the tournament's identity throughout the decade.

1972 saw a $10,000 buy-in, with Binion subsidizing $5,000 per player; "Amarillo Slim" took home $80,000. Winner-take-all formats dominated until 1978, when Bobby Baldwin claimed half of the $420,000 pool. Fields grew steadily from 13 entrants in 1973 to 54 by 1979. Prize pools scaled directly with entries, reaching $340,000 by 1977. 1979's inflation-adjusted payout hit $868,167, reflecting the tournament's surging financial stakes.

You can see how each year's growth built upon the last, transforming a small gathering into a serious competitive event. The introduction of the gold bracelet for Main Event winners in 1976 added a lasting symbol of prestige to the growing prize money stakes. CBS Sports coverage, which began in 1973 following the publicity generated by Preston's 1972 win, helped elevate the tournament's profile and attract the larger fields that drove prize pool growth throughout the decade.

Brunson, Moss, and Ungar: The Players Who Defined Early WSOP

Three players defined the early WSOP more than any others: Johnny Moss, Doyle Brunson, and Stu Ungar. Think of moss as the godfather of wsop — he won the first Main Event in 1970 by player vote, then took it again in 1971, setting the competitive tone for everything that followed.

Brunson built on that foundation, capturing back-to-back titles before facing Ungar's rapid rise to dominance. In 1980, a 26-year-old Ungar defeated Brunson heads-up, becoming the youngest champion at the time. He defended that title in 1981, joining Moss as the only two players ever to win three WSOP Main Events.

Together, these three didn't just win tournaments — they shaped how aggressive, high-stakes poker was played at the highest level. Before making his mark in poker, Ungar had already built a fearsome reputation in underground gin rummy games around New York, showcasing the sharp mind that would later dominate the WSOP. Ungar was posthumously inducted into the WSOP Poker Hall of Fame in 2001, a fitting recognition of his lasting impact on the game.

How the WSOP Grew From Seven Players to Thousands

What started as a gathering of seven players at Binion's Horseshoe in 1970 has since grown into one of poker's most staggering attendance stories. The migration to open tournaments and the rise of satellite tournaments transformed who could compete and how many showed up.

Key growth milestones you should know:

• 1970: Seven players decided the first champion by vote
• Early 1980s: Satellite tournaments opened doors for everyday players
• 1982: Main Event reached 145 entries
• 1995: Fields surpassed 500 players
• 2006: A record 8,773 players entered the Main Event

Each shift reflected broader access. Satellites let you qualify without massive bankrolls, amateurs flooded in after Chris Moneymaker's 2003 win, and the WSOP never looked back. The 2025 WSOP continued this upward trajectory, with 245,960 total entries across 100 bracelet events marking the biggest tournament series in poker history. The total prize pool across the 2025 series reached nearly $482 million, the highest in WSOP history, reflecting just how much the financial stakes have grown alongside the player fields.